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Ur, Iraq expedition records

1018

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held
at the University of Pennsylvania. Unless
otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our
reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Sir Leonard Woolley directed the excavations at Ur in southern Iraq from 1922 to 1934 for the Joint Expedition of the British
Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. As part of this involvement, the University of Pennsylvania Museum sent
Leon Legrain, Curator of the Babylonian Section, during the 1924–1925 and 1925–1926 seasons. Most of the records of the Ur
expedition are located at the British Museum. The Museum Archives hold only a few records. The records consist of general
correspondence, indexes and catalogs, publications, and Legrain research. Where possible, a chronological order was imposed
on the Near East records.

Biography/History

Sir Leonard Woolley directed the excavations at Ur in southern Iraq from 1922 to 1934 for the Joint Expedition of the British
Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. As part of this involvement, the University of Pennsylvania Museum sent
Leon Legrain, Curator of the Babylonian Section, as a cuneiformist during the 1924–1925 and 1925–1926 seasons. Most of the
records of the Ur expedition are located at the British Museum. The Museum Archives hold only a few records.

Scope and Contents

The records consist of general correspondence, indexes and catalogs, publications, and Legrain research. Most of the correspondence
appears to be letters and reports exchanged between the Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum (1922–1927, G. B.
Gordon; 1928, J. McHugh, Secretary; and 1929–1933 H. H. F. Jayne) and F. Kenyon, the Director of the British Museum, and Woolley.
Indexes include a field photograph catalog covering the twelve seasons of work as well as typewritten copy of the field object
catalog (with Museum object numbers annotated in red ink). The publications series holds correspondence, notes, drafts, photographs,
and manuscripts pertaining to the volumes of the publications of the Ur Excavations (Volumes III, IV, VI, VII, and X). The
Archives holds other records relating to Ur which may be unpublished, these have been placed in a separate series: Legrain
Research. The Near East Section curatorial records and the Directors' correspondence (Jayne to British Museum, 1925–1940)
contain related material.

Where possible, a chronological order was imposed on the Near East records. Photographs were retained with the documents when
they directly referred to content. Otherwise, the photographic collections hold material related to the excavations, artifacts,
and travel photographs (see Standard Size Print collection). Oversize material is housed in the Map Cases and the Print Cabinet
depending on size.

Administrative Information

Publication Information

University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives, August 2009

Finding Aid Author

Finding aid prepared by K. Moreau

Use Restrictions

Although many items from the archives are in the public domain, copyright may be retained by the authors of items in these
papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. The user is fully responsible for compliance with
relevant copyright law.